Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Unable to run the  Database Initialization application. Receive error stating that "You must have NT local administrator access...". Even after logging in as a local administrator the same error occurs. Environment Continuum Cyberstation Windows Server 2008 Domain Cause The instances of this that have been reported all seem to be where there has been an upgrade to or new installation of Windows Server 2008 where the system is part of a Domain. It is not entirely understood at this time but something to do with the Domain policies being pushed down to the Workstations is causing problems.   Resolution Until the cause can be properly identified, a workaround that has worked in most cases has been to create/setup a local Administrator account and then run Database Initialization as an Administrator. Shut down all Cyberstations. Right-click Database Initialization and select "Run as... Administrator". With the EUR domain in the UK the following has been found - XP                 - "Right click" on the "Database Initialization shortcut" and “Run As” use local admin - Windows 7 - "Shift" & "Right click" on the "Database Initialization shortcut" and “Run as a different user”, use local admin

  Issue Schedule a meeting on a day when the site will be closed early. Steps are needed to ensure a door can be configured for 'card only' mode for the meeting. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert Hosted V3 Cause At times it's necessary to schedule a meeting on a day when the site will be closed early. Steps are needed to ensure a door can be configured for 'card only' mode for the meeting and then revert back to the normal schedule or extend the meeting until the end of the standard schedule. Resolution Steps to configure a door(s) with a schedule using holidays and 2 T&Ps to temporarily place the door in Card Only mode and then revert back to the standard schedule. In this example, the standard schedule Unlocks the door from 8a-5p.   Create a Holiday (Early Meeting) for the meeting date and ensure a Holiday Group Membership is selected Configure a schedule(Leave Early) for the meeting date(s) and length of the meeting. Select the Holiday Group in this example named 'Early Meeting Test' in the far right drop-down. The Holiday Group is needed for this to work. Note: The short-duration example was used while testing this multiple times a day. Configure a T&P (Early Meeting TP) to temporarily change the reader mode to 'Card Only' using the schedule (Leave Early). Select the Leave Early schedule and the 'Schedule-Became-Active' Event, the reader mode and the reader(s). The "Indefinite" duration drop-down selection worked. The other drop-down options did not work for this schedule implementation. Configure a T&P (Early Meeting Cancel) to cancel the Temporary Reader mode and revert control back to the standard schedule and to Unlock the door. Select the Leave Early schedule and the 'Schedule-Became-Inactive' Event, the reader mode and the reader(s). Extend the meeting to the end of the standard schedule if needed to keep it in card-only mode. Testing Results: At 3:55p the Leave Early meeting schedule became active and the TP changed the reader mode to card only. * Please disregard the Door held open highlights in the following snapshots At 4:00p the Leave Early meeting schedule became inactive and the TP canceled the temporary reader mode. The door Unlocked in this example after control was handed back to the standard schedule.

Issue What are the valid Electrical Types for the smart sensor input on a controller Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment BACnet b3 controllers Infinet i2 controllers Smart or Room Sensor Input b3/i2 controllers excluding b3/i2 608, 824 and 885V Cause What are the valid Electrical Types for the smart input on a controller? Resolution Input X (SmartSensor) valid Electrical Types are:- ACC_TEMP_DEGF ACC_TEMP_DEGC Digital Note If using a Smart sensor then ACC_TEMP_DEGF or ACC_TEMP_DEGC should be used The temperature range is limited, thus room sensors can be used but not duct or pipe sensors as the temperature range is limited to 0-50DegC  

Issue The "Display on alarm" feature for the Alarm view object does not display when the Alarm is triggered. This occurs even though the checkbox is checked, as shown below.    Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Cause When the user is logged in with a Workspace view that does not show any Alarm viewers, no alarms are presented to the Workspace; hence the "Display on alarm" function does not load.  This is as intended. An example of this type of Workspace would be the Administration Workspace which presents no alarms to the user while they are using this Workspace. Resolution For the Alarm view to "Display on alarm", it is necessary to add the Alarm Pane to the Workspace (as shown below) or use a Workspace view with the Alarm Pane included.  

Issue What is the requirement of the PC when installing TAC Vista software? Environment TAC Vista Cause Minimum and recommended hardware and software requirements for installation of TAC Vista and its components. Resolution All minimum requirements are listed in the data sheets for each component respectively. All TAC Vista data sheets and other related documentation is available for download on The Exchange Download Center. Navigate to TAC Vista within The Exchange Download Center Narrow results by Asset types (Manual, Specification Sheet, Release Notes, etc...)

Issue Must add XDriver to a CX9200 where all other ports are being used.  Environment xdriver Comm Port CX9200 CX9300 Cause As soon as the port mode switches from xdriver to some other mode the xdriver file is detached and must be reattached to the comm port for the xdriver to work. Resolution The default mode of a comm port that is being used with an xdriver must be hard set to xdriver.

Issue An unknown automation error occurred while upgrading the application [-1:-1] Environment WorkPlace Tech 3.2 service pack 1 Visio 2000 Cause File corrupt File opened with a different version of Visio (than the one used with WorkPlace Tech 3.2sp1 which is Visio 2000) Resolution Use a backup file or rebuild application from scratch. Copy paste anything that can be re-used.

Issue Online Help states that a String can be 255 characters in size but an error is seen when trying to set the size to this number. Changing the String Size of a String object results in an error "Cannot set the StringSize. Attribute value is invalid". Environment Continuum Controllers Cause The size of String objects depends on the controller that the object is being created in. bCX1 and Netcontrollers support String objects with a size of 132 characters, i2 and b3 controllers only support String objects with a maximum size of 32 characters. Resolution The documented value of 255 as the maximum String Size, as stated in the online Continuum Help, is not correct. Network controllers can support String objects with a maximum size of 132 characters whereas subnet controllers can support a maximum of 32 characters.

Issue What is NIC709-IP's IP address How to use a NIC709-IP in TAC Vista Classic network Environment Tested with Windows XP SP3, Windows 7 computers. LConfig version is 4.2 Cause NIC709-IP looks similar to L-IP, however its configuration is totally different. The NIC709-IP's configuration is similar to NIC709-USB which requires the LConfig software. Resolution Scenario 1 If NIC709-IP address is know. Can change its IP address on its Webpage. Open the NIC709-IP webpage. Select the Config tab in the left menu bar. Select Port Config tab under the Config tab. In the main panel, choose the admin account, and type the password: loytec4u. Then click Login. Select the Ethernet tab on the top. Will need to enter the password again. In the IP Address field, type the desired the IP address. In this example, type 169.254.8.100. Then, click Save Settings.   Scenario 2 For brand new NIC709-IP, its IP address is 0.0.0.0. Please follow the steps below to set the IP address: Change the computer IP address to 169.254.8.X. X is any number between 1-255. In this case, the computer IP address to 169.254.8.1, and the subnet mask is 255.255.0.0.   Go to Start->All Programs->LOYTEC Network Interface->Lconfig.  Then Select NIC-IP/RNI tab. If the software is not listed, please go to LOYTEC website and download the most recent release version of Network Interface.     Check the Enable Device checkbox. Click on the Assignment & Config button. Device should be automatically found. If not click on the Restart Search button.   Select the device, then  click the Assign/Add button. Make the change to the IP address under IP/NAT  Address or DNS Name field if necessary. Then click on Assign Button.   Click OK button. Note, the IP address should be changed from 0.0.0.0 to the address just assigned. In this case, the IP address has been changed to 169.254.8.100.   Click the Test Device/Serial Number button to the connection. The pop-up window as shown below should be displayed.   The NIC709-IP device should be configured at this point. For testing, can type the NIC709-IP address in the browser. 

Issue Upgraded to 1.94 SU on new Workstation PC.  Alarm events are no longer displayed in Active Alarm Viewer.  Environment Continuum Cyberstation Continuum Network Cause Continuum Network and an InfinityController shared the same name. Resolution Changed the name of the Continuum Network to a unique object name.

Issue Error messages appear in graphics that have worked in previous versions. Environment TAC Vista TGML graphics editor/ workstation graphics 5.1.8 and newer Cause There are a number of changes made in TGML in version 5.1.8, but one of the changes in the way we handle scripts being run when in a graphic when a link is invoked may cause errors.  Resolution One of the commonly used menu-components invokes a link via a script within a script. Previously the scripts remained in the cache memory and all running functions were completed, but in 5.1.8 the cache is emptied as soon as a new graphic is invoked. In this case evt.stopPropagation() should be used to terminate any scripts that could potentially run after invoking a link, for example when using nested scripts. A fix has been posted on the Graphics Exchange that addresses this issue. This is not an official Schneider Electric fix and Schneider Electric takes no responsibility for issues arising from it's use (Go to Community Post).

Issue How to increase the number of Modbus registers the Xenta server polls in a single request? Product Line TAC Vista Environment XBuilder Xenta 511 Xenta 913 Xenta 701 Xenta 711 Xenta 721 Xenta 731 Cause This feature is not well documented in the Xenta 700 documentation, though it is mentioned in the TAC Xenta Server – Gateway, Technical Manual (Xenta 913). Resolution In XBuilder, selected the Modbus device in the network view. Under Link->Max Range Size you will see the current setting, the default is 20 which most devices support. Change the number to the desired value between 1-100. Note that the value must be supported by the device! Download the project to the device to commit changes.  

Issue How can the IP address of an Automation Server be determined if DHCP is being used Environment Automation Server Building Operation Device Administrator Cause The setip command does not display the IP address when configured as DHCP. Resolution To see the IP address of an Automation server connect to the device with a USB cable and start the Building Operation Device Administrator program. Right click on the AS and select the Network Settings option. This will display the IP address in the Current IP address field. The IP address can also be reached with additional statistics in the PuTTY interface (login is required) by using the ifconfig command. The inet addr is the IP address of the device. This provides additional details such as bandwidth and problem packets.

Issue I/A Series R2 and G3 Security Update - Oracle has released a Critical Patch Update for Java SE that addresses a number of security vulnerabilities Environment I/A Series R2 - All versions I/A Series G3 - All versions Cause Oracle has released a Critical Patch Update for Java SE that addresses a number of security vulnerabilities.  The patch contains fixes for 50 security vulnerabilities including 44 that only affect client deployment of Java.  These vulnerabilities can only be exploited on desktops through Java Web Start applications or Java applets.  One reported vulnerability exploits the installation process of client deployment of Java – installation of the Java Runtime Environment on desktops.  This Critical Patch Update also includes fixes that were previously released with the Java 7 Update 11 alert (Security Alert CVE-2013-0422). Resolution Download and review TPA-IA-13-0001.01 Technical Product Advisory that details the vulnerabilities.  Schneider Electric recommends that customers evaluate the risk of enabling Java, based on how the affected PC is used and that customers review the download and install the Critical Patch Update as needed.

Issue Report server is unable to communicate with the Enterprise Server (ES). After configuring the reports server and then adding the report server to the ES (under -servername-\System\Report Manager) the "Reports" folder does not get added to the ES. It is however possible to log in to the Report server using the URL. The SmartStruxure reporting agent is running, the SQL installation is complete and working but nothing is logged in the SQL report database. Environment StruxureWare Building Operation 1.X.0 SmartStruxure WebReports  Cause Incorrect proxy settings on the network. Resolution Correct the proxy settings, which may well be controlled centrally by the IT department.

Issue A network of GCMs are configured with the NIM card in each GCM to allow intercommunications over the ethernet network. Some (or all) of the devices are no longer communicating.  No known changes have been made to the ethernet network. Environment GCM-86xxx series GCMs with GCM-ETH-1 ethernet network cards The GCM-ETH-1 network card contains firmware version 11.1F. Cause Known issue with the older version of the firmware (rev 11.1F)  where network traffic issues can cause communications failures. Resolution If a firmware upgrade kit (GCMA-149-113) is available you should update the firmware in the NIM card to version 11.2T, using the procedure in document F-26229. In the event that you cannot obtain a firmware upgrade kit or a replacement GCM-ETH-1 NIM card, the procedure documented in Technical Bulletin 99-56, can be used to clear the memory of the NIM card, allowing it to re-establish communications.

Issue The instructions for configuring PE Alarm Functions in Continuum call for the creation of four new keys in the workstation registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Andover Controls\Continuum\Settings. This folder does not exist in the registry of a Windows 7 64-bit PC. Environment Cyberstation PE Alarm Functions Registry Cause On Windows 7 64 bit machines, Continuum no longer writes its registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Andover Controls Resolution Write the new registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Andover Controls\Continuum\Settings.

Issue At times it is necessary to uninstall and reinstall just EpiBuilder for troubleshooting a specific issue with Epibuilder You may also need to do this if receiving an 'error opening EpiDesigner configuration database' clicking Make/Edit Badge Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Windows XP Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause Troubleshooting requires uninstalling and reinstalling EpiBuilder or if getting 'error opening EpiDesigner configuration database' Resolution Go to Windows Control Panel> Add/remove programs in XP/2003 or Programs and Features in Windows7/2008 Uninstall EpiBuilder When prompted about the license, select Yes to continue Reboot Login as a local PC administratrot and Open My Computer and navigate to C:\Program Files\Continuum\EPIBuilder\SDK and run InstalEpiBuilder.bat

Issue How can many years worth of logged data be stored in an Automation Server? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Trend Logging Extended Trend Logging AS Cause Site requirements may dictate that longer-than-usual histories of data be kept on file. For example, to log a value every 5 minutes for 2 years equates to approximately 105120 records per year. A Trend log in an AS will store 1000 records. An Extended Trend Log will store 100,000 records. Therefore a single log will start to overwrite in about a year. For the latest up to date values please review  Maximum number using StruxureWare Building Operation (Scalability and Capacity). Resolution To overcome this issue, two Trend Logs and Extended Trend Logs are required. Create a Trend Log and Extended Trend Log for Year 1 (Odd Years). Create a second Trend Log and Extended Trend Log for Year 2 (Even Years). Both of the above Trend Logs with be set to log the same variable. Create a program to select if the year is "odd" or "even", a possible Script might be. In each trend log select the "Activation Method" as "Variable Controlled", and in the "Activation variable" field, "Browse" to the "Script Program" output that is appropriate. Logging will now take place in the Trend Log appropriate for that year.

Issue Importing an MSTP network. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Importing Import MSTP Network Cause Customer had made some identification mistakes in the BACnet Interface configuration, and decided the export the MSTP network, recreate the BACnet interface, and then import the MSTP network back in again. Resolution If the MSTP network is exported, deleted from the tree, and then imported back again, all controllers will show offline. When an MSTP network (and thus the b3 devices underneath it) is exported, we don't export the device ID, MAC ID, or serial number of the devices (they cannot be copied, therefore are non-exportable). When the object set is imported back in, these values are empty. After importing, go to the properties of the MSTP network and put back the Network ID if found to be blank. The simplest way to regain these values is to drag/drop the physical device from the hardware folder to the logical device under the MSTP network. You may need to run a discovery on the MSTP network first to make sure the hardware folder's view of the world is current. Assuming the association of the physical and logical devices is successful, you should only need to download from the AS to the devices, to make them fully operational.